Incumbents win the day as turnout drops in Framingham

Apathy ruled the polls yesterday, with voter turnout the lowest in at least three decades for the spring town election.

By Dan McDonald/Daily News staff

Wicked Local

By Dan McDonald/Daily News staff

Posted Apr. 8, 2009 at 12:01 AM
Updated Apr 8, 2009 at 8:12 AM

By Dan McDonald/Daily News staff

Posted Apr. 8, 2009 at 12:01 AM
Updated Apr 8, 2009 at 8:12 AM

FRAMINGHAM

» Social News

Apathy ruled the polls yesterday, with voter turnout the lowest in at least three decades for the spring town election.

With much of the drama already gone from an election that was riddled with uncontested races, 1,167, or 3.4 percent of Framingham's 33,688 voters, cast ballots.

Incumbent School Committee members Beverly Hugo, with 836 votes, and Andy Limeri, 684 votes, took the one contested for a pair of three-year posts on that board.

Challenger Bob Edwards, who had flip-flopped about running for the spot, lost. He received 303 votes.

Ricky Finlay, a newcomer to the School Committee fold, was elected to a one-year term. He was unopposed.

Standing outside the Town Clerk's office last night , Hugo thanked those who did come out to vote and said she looked forward to another three years in office.

"As always we'll try to close the achievement and access gap," she said.

Hugo ticked off a list of priorities that included bringing back Framingham special needs students who attend school out of district, working the fiscal 2010 budget "without cutting into direct services for children," and ensuring a seamless administrative transition as the district welcomes a new superintendent.

Nelson Goldin, Esther Hopkins, and James Cameau were the only names on the ballot for three Keefe Tech School Committee spots and each secured those posts easily.

Two Town Meeting precincts had crowded fields. In Precinct 2, Melanie Goddard, Kenneth Schwartz, Matthew Calder and Nicola Cataldo secured seats. Farooq Karim-Mirza was on the outside looking in with only 9 percent of the vote in that precinct.

Precinct 6 also had a race. Mary Healy, Nicholas Paganella, John Styles and David Ellis took the four three-year seats. Rochelle Sivan, also a Precinct 6 candidate was not elected.

In last fall's presidential election, Framingham voters turned out in record numbers. Yesterday's 3.4 percent turnout slid under even Assistant Town Clerk Lisa Ferguson's prediction of 8 percent. That number would have been half the turnout of last spring's town election.

That election, which featured contests for selectmen, moderator, school committee and Planning Board had a 16 percent turnout.

Last fall's election, which also featured three statewide ballot questions brought in 74 percent of the vote in Framingham.

Yesterday, some precincts averaged fewer than five voters per hour.

The election cost the town about $30,000, said Town Clerk Valerie Mulvey.

Mulvey said it was the lowest turnout in at least 35 years.

Early in the evening at Brophy Elementary School, the polling place for Precincts 4 and 7 one volunteer read a paperback novel, another flipped through a magazine and chatted with fellow poll workers around a table.

They spent most of their 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. shift waiting for someone to walk through the door.

Page 2 of 2 - "There's plenty of apathy, but those who don't vote will still be quick to criticize," said poll worker Joe Haughey. "This is the slowest election I've seen by far. It's too bad."

His fellow poll worker Darlene Connors agreed.

"People should care about this," said Connors. "But I don't know how you get them to care about it. This is where people actually could have a say."